Negative
Numbers

Negative
numbers will
crop up all the time in your maths exam. They will not
normally
be stand alone questions but instead form part of another topic.
You must study the rules for + - x ÷
carefully when working with negative numbers.

Example
Question

Calculate:

a) 6 + -14
b) -4 --6
c) -6
x 5
d) -40
÷ -8

Solution

a)
When adding a negative number to another number the sum becomes a
subtraction.
So: 6 + -14
= 6 - 14 = -8

b)
When subtracting a negative number from another number the sum becomes
an addition.
So: -4 --6 = -4 + 6
= 2

c)
When multiplying negatives just do the sum as you normally would then
make your answer negative. However, if both numbers are
negative then your answer becomes positive.So:-6
x 5 = -30

d)When dividing negatives
the rule is the same as when multiplying negatives. Remember, if both numbers are
negative then your answer becomes positive. In
this case both numbers are negative.
So: -40
÷ -8
= 5

Test
Yourself!

Calculate
-6 x 4

Write
down the value of -16 divided by -2.

Work
out (-3)2 + -5

In
London the temperature was 2oC. The
temperature in Moscow was 11oC lower.
What was the temperature in Moscow?